Kent ISD — Brayden Fletcher never considered himself an artist. He preferred building things to drawing, painting or coloring. But welding opened the door to a creative side he never knew he had.
This spring, the homeschooled graduate from Cedar Springs was one of two students from the Kent Career Tech Center Welding Technology program to earn top honors in the Michigan Industrial and Technology Education Society competition.
Brayden placed first in MITES regional and state competitions in the wrought iron category for his Excalibur-style sculpture. Caledonia High School graduate Ben Moss took first in both regional and state in the outdoor/sporting goods category for his disc golf basket.
Swords and Roses
“It is not that I didn’t think I was good at art,” Brayden said. “Once I got into (welding), it’s more about thinking, because metal is not super easy to work with. … You have to plan out what you’re going to do. You have to know how you’re going to wrap the flower heads. You have to know how you’re going to bend the stem. You don’t just do it.”
Brayden said he chose his design because swords in stone are not commonly seen in metalwork. His sculpture includes flowers on the stone and a vine wrapped around a removable sword.
“I wanted to make it look as realistic as you can make something look with metal,” he said. “I knew that if I was going to invest three, four or five months into a project, I wanted it to win. I’m very competitive.”
He started by building a boulder-shaped base and constructed the piece from there. The original design called for just one sword, but he felt the base looked bare, so he added a second, smaller sword and roses — elements he learned to create last year and said he enjoyed making.
The work was all done freehand, he said, using triangle shapes to create the boulder.
“(With triangles) I can get that kind of rocky look without it looking too smooth, but I can also form angles I need without wasting a bunch of material.”
Disc Golf, Anyone?
Ben said he decided to build a disc golf basket because he is an avid player and wanted one for his home.
“The biggest challenge was figuring out how I was gonna make each part,” Ben said about his design. “I sectioned it off into four pieces as I made it deconstructible for easy storage.”
The base serves as the foundation for Ben’s basket, while the second section — the main shaft supporting the basket — slides into the base. The third section, the cage, includes a stopper that allows a disc to drop into the basket after striking the target. The final section is the top assembly, where the cage’s chains are attached.
“Once I figured out how I was gonna bend everything and how to plan the actual building of it, it wasn’t too difficult,” he said.
Pursuing Hands-on Careers
Both Brayden and Ben said welding was not top of mind when they first toured the Kent Career Tech Center. Brayden was considering construction while Ben was thinking of plumbing.
Both appreciate the opportunities they had in the Tech Center Welding Technology program and credit their instructors, Richie Murley and Eric Dedenbach, for their support and helping them overcome challenges in creating their pieces.
Ben is heading to Iowa’s Faith Bible College in the fall with the goal of earning a two-year degree in construction, electrical and plumbing. His plan is eventually to work for a company with a welding department and start a small side business creating custom items.
Brayden completed an internship through a work-based learning placement in the Tech Center’s welding program, which led to a job working with molds, patterns and dies.
He hopes to continue developing his welding skills and plans to keep creating artistic projects on the side.
“I’d definitely like to keep doing artistic stuff for fun,” he said. “Flowers, crabs, turtles — just about anything.”
Read more from our districts:
• Future chefs take their exam to the kitchen
• Signing day: Auto tech students accept employment offers
